Recipient's Name: Katie Brown

School: Hespeler Public

Grade: 3

Number of Years Teaching: 15

One of Katie's core beliefs is that each child is unique and that it is her job and honour to find each child's spark. She believes that every child is a genius in something, whether it is math, sports or art. Her role is to provide many different opportunities for the genius to come out and be celebrated. Katie seeks to provide goose bump moments for her students so that the children see real life and learning coming together.

Katie was a nurse before becoming a teacher. She said it was the children she cared for that drew her to teaching. She seeks not only to teach her students but to create an atmosphere where they feel accepted and respected. Modeling the circle of kindness, courtesy and peaceful problem-solving is important in Katie's classroom as this leads to a life of peacekeeping. Developing relationships with her students is also important as she knows that if they trust her they will tell her the truth about what is really going on in their lives. If they are hungry, worried or tired then those real issues need to be responded to before learning can begin. Laughter, love and learning abound in Katie's classroom.

Heidi, a parent of one of Katie's students wrote these words of nomination:

My son was in grade two this past year. He struggles with school. Grade one was really hard on all of us. I dreaded grade 2 but Ms. Brown was the best thing for Alex. She was so positive in her approach with all the kids. I get the feeling that she loves them all. Her willingness to make whatever accommodations might work for Alex was really impressive, such as letting him get up more frequently or read on the floor if that suited him. When Alex's behaviour was a challenge, Ms. Brown didn't send home copious notes about everything he had done wrong that day. Instead she sent home a simple pictorial chart that he had worked on with how he could respond to different situations appropriately.

What I appreciated most of all was that Ms. Brown, rather than trying to make Alex fit into the mold of what a grade 2 student was suppose to be, she let him be who he was and expressed a genuine interest in helping Alex maximize his success. I wish Alex could have Ms. Brown for grade 3 and 4 and 5 and 6